1. Melissa Malins

    Melissa Malins

    Direct Tax Controller and Group Reporting Manager at pladis

    Melissa Malins

    Melissa Malins

    Direct Tax Controller and Group Reporting Manager at pladis

    Biography:

    Melissa is the Direct Tax Controller and Group Reporting Manager at pladis, a large biscuit manufacturer with well known brands including McVities. Previously Melissa was a Tax Manager in the property team at BDO where she specialised in capital allowances. She has presented on the subject at ACCA conferences and various seminars.

    She also contributes to Tolley's Property Taxation.

  2. Chris Siddle

    Chris Siddle

    Head of Newcastle Centre / Senior Tutor at Tolley

    Chris Siddle

    Chris Siddle

    Head of Newcastle Centre / Senior Tutor at Tolley

    Biography:

    Chris joined the Tolley Exam Training team in 2012 to teach on a range of tax exam courses including ATT and CTA.

    Chris started his career with Deloitte where he qualified as a chartered accountant and then progressed to do his CTA exams where he was a Stanley Spofforth Medal winner.  He then spent a number of years with Kaplan.

    Chris is a well-known personality in the tax world, particularly in the North-East, where he has taught tax on a wide range of exam courses and CPD events. He was a committee member of the North East Branch of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (having previously been Chairman).

    He teaches mainly on Taxation of Individuals and Owner Managed Businesses and is Head of the Newcastle centre.

  3. Irfan Butt

    Irfan Butt

    Real Estate Tax Partner at RSM UK Tax

    Irfan Butt

    Irfan Butt

    Real Estate Tax Partner at RSM UK Tax

    Biography:

    Irfan  is a Tax Partner in the London Real Estate tax team at RSM Tax and Advisory Services LLP. He advises both Shariah compliant and conventional real estate investors and fund managers on all aspects of tax structuring of funds and UK and pan-European real estate transactions and strategies across commercial, retail, residential, logistics, hotels, and student accommodation properties.

    Over the years he has led and advised on numerous high profile real estate transactions as well as acquisition of real estate related distressed loan portfolios and loan work out strategies for distressed debt funds.

    Irfan contr0ibutes to Tolley's International Tax Planning.

  4. Chris Holmes

    Chris Holmes

    Tax Director at BDO LLP

    Chris Holmes

    Chris Holmes

    Tax Director at BDO LLP

    Biography:

    Chris is a Tax Director at BDO LLP, specialising in all aspects of owner managed business, and is recognised as a champion on such diverse topics as transactions, property, and pensions.


    He also leads the BDO pensions and financial product tax advisory teams and is a consultant in BDO’s tax support for professionals team (advising other accountants, lawyers and tax professionals whether in house or in practice).


    Chris also contributed to Tolley Guidance Employment Tax module re: pensions.

  5. Debra Moses

    Debra Moses

    Partner, Global Employer Services Leader at BDO Canada LLP

    Debra Moses

    Debra Moses

    Partner, Global Employer Services Leader at BDO Canada LLP

    Biography:

    Debra Moses has more than 28 years of experience in expatriate taxation. She assists multinational companies with their globally mobile workforce, including Canadian and US income tax compliance, international payroll, social security, compensation, global equity compensation and tax policy consulting.

  6. Iliyan Tzakov

    Iliyan Tzakov

    Director - US Tax Services, Taxential Limited

    Iliyan Tzakov

    Iliyan Tzakov

    Director - US Tax Services, Taxential Limited

    Biography:

    I am a US Corporate Tax and Global Mobility specialist with focus on US tax advisory and compliance for small and medium-sized businesses with US based offices and employees. I provide integrated US corporate and personal tax solutions to international businesses with US operations and their employees on short-term or long-term assignment in the US.

  7. Claire Cairns

    Claire Cairns

    Tax Manager at Grant Thornton UK LLP

    Claire Cairns

    Claire Cairns

    Tax Manager at Grant Thornton UK LLP

    Biography:

    Claire Cairns is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser, and is currently a corporation tax manager at Grant Thornton UK LLP.


    She advises entrepreneurial owner-managed businesses and large international groups on a wide range of tax issues.


    Claire has a keen interest in sustainability, and supports the tax lead for ESG at Grant Thornton. As part of this role, she became well versed in the Plastic Packaging Tax legislation and is helping clients nationally navigate the new tax.

  8. Gemma Grunewald

    Gemma Grunewald

    Partner at Winston Taylor International LLP

    Gemma Grunewald

    Gemma Grunewald

    Partner at Winston Taylor International LLP

    Biography:

    Gemma is both a solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser. She has particular expertise in advising clients in the Real Estate Sector, often structuring investments into UK real estate.

    Her work is both advisory and transactional in nature, and she advises on corporate acquisitions and disposals, lending transactions, and direct asset purchases and sales across a full range of asset classes, including living capital, office and logistics.

    Clients value her ability to navigate technical detail while providing commercially grounded, pragmatic advice.

  9. Luigi Lungarella

    Luigi Lungarella

    Director at PKF

    Luigi Lungarella

    Luigi Lungarella

    Director at PKF

    Biography:

    With over 20 years’ experience of indirect taxation, working both in professional practice and industry, Luigi advises UK and international businesses and not for profit organisations on a broad range of issues to ensure they are compliant, take advantage of VAT reliefs and maximise VAT recovery.  He has particular expertise in VAT recovery and attribution methods, partial exemption and business/non-business apportionments, and regularly undertakes VAT health checks for national and international businesses to identify risks and opportunities.

    His sector expertise includes financial services, charities and real estate, having spent three years in the in-house tax team of a privately owned group specialising in property investment and fund management, principal investments and financial services.

    Luigi is a graduate in Economics, a Chartered Tax Adviser, a UK Taxation Technician (Fellow) and an Associate of the Federation of Tax Advisers.  He is the leader of the PKF Global Indirect Tax Group, the chairman of the PKF European VAT Group, a member of the PKF Global Tax Committee and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) indirect tax committee.

    An in-demand public speaker on VAT, Luigi provides indirect tax updates and presentations to national and international audiences. He writes regularly on indirect tax, and is the editor of VAT in the EU, a country by country guide to all 27 EU member states and the UK to the post Brexit implications for international trade published by LexisNexis.

  10. Lynne Poyser

    Lynne Poyser

    Personal Tax Manager at Tolley

    Lynne Poyser

    Lynne Poyser

    Personal Tax Manager at Tolley

    Biography:

    Lynne is an expert in personal taxation with over 15 years' experience. Lynne joined Tolley from BDO, where she worked in the private client team and the national tax training department, having previously worked for Grant Thornton and Arthur Andersen.

    Whilst in practice, Lynne handled compliance and planning matters including entrepreneurs' relief planning, capital gains tax deferral, non-domicile planning, estate planning and corporate restructuring for inheritance tax.

    As well as being the in-house writer for the Personal Tax module of TolleyGuidance, Lynne has written for Taxation, Tax Adviser and Taxwise I and is a tutor for Tolley Exam Training. She is also a former Chairman of the ATT/CIOT London branch.

  11. Rebecca Rose

    Rebecca Rose

    Associate at Macfarlanes

    Rebecca Rose

    Rebecca Rose

    Associate at Macfarlanes

    Biography:

    Rebecca advises on a wide range of UK and cross-border tax matters including real estate, finance, M&A, group tax planning and fund investment structuring.

    Rebecca has particular expertise in advising the real estate sector, with experience in investment structuring, the acquisition and disposal of real estate, the development of commercial and residential property as well as real estate financing.

    Rebecca is also a Chartered Tax Adviser and also contributes to Tolley's Property Taxation.

  12. Becky Lawton

    Becky Lawton

    Associate Solicitor at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

    Becky Lawton

    Becky Lawton

    Associate Solicitor at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

    Biography:

    Becky is a member of the Employment, Pensions & Immigration group and advises on all aspects of employment law, both contentious and non-contentious.

    On the contentious side, she has expertise in dealing with a broad range of employment tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination on the grounds of age, sex and disability, part-time working and unlawful deductions of wages.

    Her non-contentious experience includes drafting and advising on a wide range of employment contracts, consultancy agreements and company policies and procedures.

    Becky also advises in relation to post-termination disputes with former senior executives and regularly advises on settlement negotiations and severance terms.

    She regularly publishes articles on all aspects of employment law, speaks at seminars and provides bespoke client training.

  13. Papa Bathie Gueye

    Papa Bathie Gueye

    Managing Partner at PKF Rubiks

    Papa Bathie Gueye

    Papa Bathie Gueye

    Managing Partner at PKF Rubiks

    Biography:

    Papa Bathie Gueye holds the US CPA and a Master of Science in Taxation from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University in New York. With professional experience both in the United States and the OHADA region, he manages a team of 24 professionals at the public accounting firm located in Senegal with reach in most of Francophone West Africa. As a member of the AICPA since 2012 and the Chartered Accountancy Board of Senegal (ONECCA) since 2014 Papa has extensive experience in the accounting, tax and legal landscape.

    Papa is bilingual in French and English, and is well-versed in both Senegalese and US accounting standards and tax laws, as well as international tax. He is also familiar with US GAAP and IFRS, and was a speaker at the 2017 African Congress Of Accountants (ACOA) in Uganda where he discussed the implementation of IFRS standards in Africa.

    By working for an international accounting network in Senegal for almost a decade Papa has represented clients large and small and has been instrumental in supporting many branches and subsidiaries of foreign companies navigate the uncertain and changing landscape of tax law in West Africa.

    Papa has hands-on experience with local administrative procedures and legislation affecting clients in the oil and gas industry, telecommunications, infrastructure, financial services and NGO sectors, and prides himself on staying ahead of the law’s frequent changes.

    Papa is the author of the Cameroon country guide for Tolley’s Global Mobility/Employment Taxes.

     
     
  14. Ian Matthews

    Ian Matthews

    Director at PKF Sydney

    Ian Matthews

    Ian Matthews

    Director at PKF Sydney

    Biography:

    Ian is a Director of PKF and is part of our specialist Taxation team in Sydney.

    With 35 years of combined accounting and financial industry experience, Ian has been a Director specialising in Indirect Taxes at a big four firm, Asia Pacific Regional Indirect Tax Manager for a US multinational and the Chief Financial Officer at a funds management firm.

    Ian specialises in Indirect Taxes including, GST, customs duty, payroll tax and employment taxes generally.

    Ian works closely with his clients to assist in complying with Indirect Tax obligations in Australia and across the Asia Pacific.

    Ian is a contributing author to the Australia country guide in Tolley’s Global VAT.

  15. Charlotte Kynaston

    Charlotte Kynaston

    Barrister at Ten Old Square Chambers

    Charlotte Kynaston

    Charlotte Kynaston

    Barrister at Ten Old Square Chambers

    Biography:

    Charlotte is a member of Ten Old Square Chambers. She has a general Chancery practice, with a focus on non-contentious private client matters.

    She has particular experience in advising on trusts and associated taxation, wills, probate and the administration of estates. She is adept at drafting deeds and other trust documents.

    Charlotte recently spent six months seconded to the private client department of a major City law firm. Whilst there, she advised on the full spectrum of private client practice. She gained particular expertise in international private client taxation, trust administration and probate matters.

    Charlotte was awarded a first class degree in History from the Queen's College at the University of Oxford. She went on to gain a Distinction in the Graduate Diploma in Law and an Outstanding in the Bar Professional Training Course. She was awarded the Benefactors' Prize by the Queen's College and a Major Scholarship from the Inner Temple.

    She is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, a committee member of the Junior Chancery Bar Association and an associate member of STEP.

  16. Monika Bahm

    Monika Bahm

    PKF Arsilon at Tax advisor

    Monika Bahm

    Monika Bahm

    PKF Arsilon at Tax advisor

    Biography:

    With over a decade of experience as a tax advisor, I specialize in VAT, indirect taxes and customs. Trilingual in French, English and German, I advise clients from start-ups to multinational groups on complex cross-border transactions within the EU and beyond. Working in collaboration with the PKF International network, I bring practical insight and an international perspective to my work and publications.

  17. Justin Cobb

    Justin Cobb

    Associate Director at Frank Hirth Plc

    Justin Cobb

    Justin Cobb

    Associate Director at Frank Hirth Plc

    Biography:

    Justin is an Associate Director in the UK specialist team at Frank Hirth plc, the leading independent US and UK tax specialists. Justin advises both UK and non-domiciled high net worth individuals on all aspects of their UK taxation position with particular focus on pre-arrival planning, remittance planning, and residency and domicile issues; this includes the use of offshore trusts and the tax effects for UK resident settlors and beneficiaries.

  18. Karen Cooper

    Karen Cooper

    Partner at CooperCavendish LLP

    Karen Cooper

    Karen Cooper

    Partner at CooperCavendish LLP

    Biography:

    Karen is an experienced employee benefits lawyer with more than 20 years' experience in advising companies of all sizes in relation to their employee benefit and remuneration issues. She trained and worked for leading law firms Baker McKenzie LLP and Linklaters LLP and spent three years as a remuneration consultant at Ernst & Young LLP. Prior to co-founding Cooper Cavendish, Karen headed up Osborne Clarke LLP's employee benefit practice for 15 years.


    Karen is a thought-leader and regularly speaks and presents at industry conferences and events. She is a member of the Small Quoted Companies Alliance Share Scheme Committee and the Share Plan Lawyers Organisation. Karen is also the author of a wide range of legal publications including the chapter on executive remuneration in Sweet & Maxwell's 'Corporate Governance', the chapter on employee share schemes in Jordan's Company Administration and she contributes regularly to Tax Journal, and Practical Law (PLC). She is ranked as a leading individual on employees share schemes in Chambers and Partners and was recognised in the 2015 International Tax Review Women in Tax Leaders (a comprehensive guide to the world's leading female tax advisers).